Racial Discrimination, Religious Coping, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among African American Women and Men

Authors: Jason Ashe, Keisha Bentley-Edwards, Antonius Skipper, Adolfo Cuevas, Christian Maino Vieytes, Kristie Bah, Michele K. Evans, Alan B. Zonderman & Shari R. Waldstein 

Journal: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Abstract: This cross-sectional study examined whether religious coping buffered the associations between racial discrimination and several modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors—systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), and cholesterol—in a sample of African American women and men. Participant data were taken from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span study (N = 815; 55.2% women; 30–64 years old). Racial discrimination and religious coping were self-reported. CVD risk factors were clinically assessed. In sex-stratified hierarchical regression analyses adjusted for age, socioeconomic status, and medication use, findings revealed several significant interactive associations and opposite effects by sex. Among men who experienced racial discrimination, religious coping was negatively related to systolic BP and HbA1c. However, in men reporting no prior discrimination, religious coping was positively related to most risk factors. Among women who had experienced racial discrimination, greater religious coping was associated with higher HbA1c and BMI. The lowest levels of CVD risk were observed among women who seldom used religious coping but experienced discrimination. Religious coping might mitigate the effects of racial discrimination on CVD risk for African American men but not women. Additional work is needed to understand whether reinforcing these coping strategies only benefits those who have experienced discrimination. It is also possible that religion may not buffer the effects of other psychosocial stressors linked with elevated CVD risk.

Key Findings

  • For African American men who experienced prior racial discrimination, higher religious coping use was related to diminished CVD risk.
  • However, these anticipated effects were not seen among men in the absence of discrimination nor among women who experienced discrimination.
  • Individual and community-level interventions must attend to the social conditions and culturally lived experiences of African American women and men uniquely.

Citation: Ashe, J., Bentley-Edwards, K., Skipper, A. et al. Racial Discrimination, Religious Coping, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among African American Women and Men. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-024-02113-x

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